Examining the Turkish Airlines Batman v Superman Spots

With the Super Bowl all wrapped up, it’s about time to start looking over all of the released trailers and advertisements, and to hopefully find some hidden easter eggs and plot hints. For instance, Turkish Airlines released two new travel ads for Batman v Superman, promoting trips to both Gotham and Metropolis. I recently took the time to look over the spots, as well as the linked promo pages on the Turkish Airlines website, for any clues on the DCEU. Here’s what I found:

There’s not too much in the way of Easter eggs in this ad. A great many of the shots seem like they’re showing off buildings that got destroyed in Man of Steel. However, you can see the Daily Planet logo at 0:14 on a newspaper truck. That Superman statue at 0:19 also noticeably has no red paint on its chest. I guess they filmed this spot some time before Superman meets with that committee in the film’s trailers?

Speaking of Superman, the Man of Steel himself is seen flying by at 0:21, blowing over a few things outside the Metropolis Museum of Modern Art. Skipping over to 0:26, we can see Lex Luthor holding a press conference on the new LexCorps tower. This would obviously take place after the prequel comic, where he announces his intention to rebuild the city and make it better than ever.

The travel site, meanwhile, gives us a little bit more information. Heroes Park, where the Superman statue currently sits, is the movie version of Centennial Park. The park in DC’s comic books, which itself is already based on New York’s Central Park. The Shuster Arena and Siegel Music Hall are obviously references to writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, the co-creators of Superman, while on the technology side of things, I’m left wondering if the “unidentifiable beeping rectangle tucked discreetly into a shirt pocket” is a possible reference to Lex/OS.

We kick things off in this promo with a quick shot of the Ace Chemicals building at around 0:13, with the logo looking a lot like the one in Batman: Arkham Knight. The shot of Gotham through Wayne Enterprises at 0:32 is also very reminiscent of the Gotham City seen in the Batman: Arkham games.

“Grant’s Bistro,” at 0:15 is most likely a reference to Grant Morrison, a popular Batman writer. Then there’s a long shot of the Gotham Opera House, where Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered (in some versions of the origin), and a glance at a nightclub in the Bowery, Gotham’s worst neighborhood. Capping things off is the Bat-Signal, a spotlight for a “local celebrity,” shining in the sky at 0:38.

Like with Metropolis, the travel website gives us a tad bit more information. Right off the bat, a “Norwegian mercenary” who founded Gotham is mentioned, a nod to Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing #53, where Captain Jon Logerquist is seen founding the city. Davenport Tower (where Penguin keeps the Iceburg Lounge in the popular “No Man’s Land” story), and the Clocktower (headquarters of Batman ally, and one time Batgirl, Oracle) are also mentioned.

Amusement Mile is mentioned, and given the references to carnivals and dark history, seems to still be run by the Joker in the DCEU. Then there’s two references to Poison Ivy with the Wayne Botanical Gardens (Ivy uses the similarly named Giordano Botanical Gardens as a hideout in the comics) and Robinson Park, where Ivy camped out in No Man’s Land. Burnley Harbor is probably a reference to the “Burnley Freight Yards,” used by the Falcone crime family to bring in illegal goods.

Anything Else?

The Turkish Airlines website also included a couple of maps, each one helping identify the main locations seen in the DCEU material released so far. Both Gotham and Metropolis are seen sitting somewhat close to each other, with Superman’s prison of choice, Stryker’s Island Penitentiary, located right in the middle of both areas.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice will arrive in theaters on March 25, 2016.